Hermann Newbie Advice?

[hkrewusik]

Hello! I'm very new here and am currently waiting to bring home my first Hermann baby in about a month! I'm in the process of finishing up my tortoise table and still had a few questions about a few things before I move anybody in.

Lighting/Heat... I've done some reading and obviously came across the fact that some types of bulbs can damage the torts eyes. What type should I be getting? I was planning on going for a MVB (I don't know if this question even applies to that kind).

Also, everyone seems to have a different opinion on nighttime heating. Would it work fine for a Hermann to have the MVB (or whichever ends up being the better choice) run for 12-14 hours and then have no heat or light after that? Or do I need to have heat at night for them too? I do live in Canada so it's not the warmest temperatures here but my house is basically room temp.

Humidity.... Again, I've done my research and still couldn't come across a definitive answer. Do I need to be carefully monitoring the humidity? The layout of my tortoise table will have the basking/heat at one end and the hide at the other. Substrate will be a combo of topsoil and coco. If I just basically keep the opposite end moist by using a spray bottle on it when it needs it will that be enough?


Thanks!

 

[wellington]

I don't know the requirements for hermanns, but I can tell you the the coil type bulbs are the ones to stay away from. You will need a UVB bulb for day time and a CHE (ceramic heat emitter)for night time or added daytime heat.

 

[ColinF87]

Hello and welcome! There are probably people who can give you far, far better answers than me, but here are my thoughts:

Lighting: I use an MVB with my hermanns, and have had no problems with it. Coil bulbs (which are shaped like a coil, it's not a brand name or anything) can damage a tortoise's eyes, but as far as I know only UV bulbs come in that form.

Heat: I have the MVB running for 12 hours (0730-1930), with no other heat source. My house is reasonably warm though, so I don't need it. The nighttime temperatures should be in the low 20s (celsius), but the occasional dip under that won't do any harm. If your temperatures are consistenly below that then it might be worth investing in a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) to warm up part of the table.

Humidity: Hermanns don't need the same level of humidity as a baby sulcata, for example, but still need some. I use soil/coco coir as well, and I try to keep mine around 50%. So far I haven't had any problems or noticed any pyramiding, etc. The key thing is matching temperature and humidity. High humidity at low temperatures will lead to respiratory problems and possibly shell rot. Spraying the table in the way you suggest is a good way to go about it.

 

[hkrewusik]

Okay great thanks!

 

[StarSapphire22]

Hello!

Excellent choice of species, first of all, but I am biased.

My care for my baby Hermanns was developed based on info from this forum and input from HermanniChris, a breeder/Hermanns expert (and where my little nugget came from).

I highly recommend a PowerSun bulb, or other MVB. Night heating is not necessary, Hermanns can comfortably handle night time drops into the 60s, even 50s in a pinch. My light is on about 14 hours a day, timer shuts it off, and it comes back on in the morning. Our room temp is 71-74.

Baby Hermanns DO need humidity for the first two years of their life. Mine stays at about 70-80%. You will struggle with this in a table type setup...I would modify it to a closed chamber if you can. A hinged lid with a wood frame and Plexiglas top should work well, I would think. I use a under-the-bed bin with a sq. foot hole cut in the top for the light and covered the whole with hardware cloth. Even this has me misting 3-5 times a day, so I can't imagine managing a completely open topped table. Moss will be really helpful for keeping humidity up and your little one will love burrowing in it.

 

[Jlant85]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63799.html

^_^ cant get anymore detailed than this =)